Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 5) – Filipino tennis prodigy Alex Eala took the lead in his second women’s singles outing at the French Open after being named the tournament’s No.2 seed.

Eala secured the same position at the start of the French Open 2020, where she reached the semi-finals to be the first Filipina to qualify for a Grand Slam semi-final match since Felix Barrientos at the junior tournament in Wimbledon in 1985.

She will face British bet Matilda Mutavdzic in the first round.

The 16-year-old Filipino tennis sensation has just finished second in his first doubles tournament on the professional tennis circuit. She and her Russian partner Oksana Selekhmeteva finished second in the W25 Platja D’Aro in Spain on May 22.

The 2021 French Open will be Eala’s fourth Grand Slam singles tournament after competing in the 2020 Australian Open and the 2019 US Open.

Eala is also the 2020 Australian Open women’s doubles champion – a feat she won with her Indonesian partner Priska Madelyn Nugroho.

Eala is currently in her career high world no. 624 in the latest ranking of the Women’s Tennis Association. She remains the third highest ranked junior tennis player in the world, according to the International Tennis Federation.